-
allocate CPU, memory, storage, and network resources to each VM, keeping their operations isolated and secure from one another
-
type 1 (bare-metal): runs directly on the host hardware, commonly used in data centers
- e.g., VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM, Xen
-
type 2 (hosted): runs on top of a traditional operating system as an application
- e.g., VirtualBox, VMware Workstation